Oedipussy (Theatre Royal Brighton)
Date Reviewed: 14 May 2012
WOS Rating: 

The audience for Spymonkey’s production of Oedipussy is populated by an eclectic mix who, sartorially, are understated – with the odd pair of red trousers thrown in! As they sit, they are faced with Michael Vale’s contemporary white set, a modernist take on classical Greek colonnades crossed with 70s Ladderax shelving, with a brazen colour wash lighting plan by Phil Supple completing the minimalist picture.

The performance begins with the four actors walking on stage in a sort of prologue; a delicious send-up of the critic from the Scotsman who didn’t remain nameless. Joyce Macmillan may well be pleased with her moment of theatrical notoriety, for her scathing review of the previous Spymonkey production, Moby Dick, as the actors here read the worst of her published comments getting us off to a fine tongue-in-cheek start.

Then the mayhem begins and it doesn’t ever let up, not even at the brutal, bloody end of this tale. Spymonkey turns classical Greek drama into a madcap Monty Python-esque mixture of Benny Hill meets the Carry On team and that’s only the beginning.  Throw in anarchic asides and a curious Greek chorus, performed by the finest actor/circus clowns working today, and allow the audience to play along (a little bit). Let the performers become narrators of their own lives, as well as telling the familiar story and serve immediately. Best consumed very hot!

This is a very naughty, sexy Oedipus, as indicated by the reworded title. There are numerous characters portrayed throughout, with special mention going to Aitor Basauri’s depiction of the pederast, Laius, Stephan Kreiss playing a horny 17 year old Oedipus with quite extraordinary and hilarious authenticity and Petra Massey as a topsy-turvy Sphinx, with a cat’s head atop her naked body. Sheer joy abounds with the sexual merry-go-round facing us on stage, and occasionally spilling into the front row of the audience.

Toby Park‘s musicianship vies with his superb comic characterisations, such as his early Bowie, Ziggy Stardust in full gorgeous 70s purple rock-drag and platform shoes. All this is interspersed with wonderful stand-up asides from each of the four actors, in character, as sort of bitches from hell versions of themselves.

The spirits of the great slapstick and sexualised comedians live on in this terrific production, masterfully corralled by director Emma Rice. The unbelievably energetic, supple and multi-talented cast made the fastest of quick changes into and out of Lucy Bradridge’s witty and ingenious costumes and are supported byNeil Filby’s glorious compositions – including the superb Leprosy’s Not Funny, which is performed as an audience sing-along.

As we get our breath back from the incredibly dramatic and bloody ending, still drying our eyes from laughter, the audience leap to their feet to offer a standing ovation and riotous cheers for this fantastically irreverent, superbly performed and incredibly comical show.

This is an event that the festival has invented to make the most out of the classic Q&A. Basically that is what it is but the next morning with a nice cup of coffee or speciality coffees.
So we go there and talk to members of the audience who have the opportunity to say what they think about the show while they ship from a cup of free coffee that they have paid with the ticket.

I do not know if it is a good idea but we did one this morning and there were something around the 20 people. I do not know what to think. I do not know if that is a good sign or a bad sign or if we should have got many more people or but the fact of the matter is that it was very nice.

We had a really nice chat about what we do. The audience were mainly people that liked what we did and they wanted to know more about what happens inside the entire thing.

I was in a bad mood because I had slept very little and I felt really tired. Toby was in an splendid mood like Stephan and Petra was not there because she had gone to London to shoot a video for Metallica the rock band. She loves this talks but she loves more to be in front of a camera.

After the talk I went to sleep to the dressing room and then we did the show.

We have found the speed of the show but is still very long. I think we should cut it. I know where we should cut it but I have not been able to convince all of them that is the best way of making the show better.

Tonight like the last two night lots of friends in the audience and it was really good to see them. Sandra from Switzerland, Kathy, Kathy Bourne all those people that have been all our lives around… And even so I left. I left for home because I was exhausted of emotions and socializing. I could not see anyone anymore. Even with Graeme at home and went to bed because I did not have anything else to say to anyone any more.

This is a real hangover what I suffer today. It is not just alcohol or drugs or any thing similar to that. I have a big hangover from seeing people. I have seen so many people today. I had to talk to so many people, I had to smile so many times and I did not have the power to do that. My heart was empty or my soul or wherever all those things come from.

The only thing I wanted to do was to go home and rest and think about things or better to leave my brain empty, in stand by motion. I was tired. I am tired.
We have done the second show at the Theatre Royal. Tanya and many people were there and it was really nice to see them and to make them proud and to make them happy with our work. Of course not every one is going to like it but we just can hope.

The night before Mick, Hayley, Sarah, Martina, Tim, Julia lots of friends and tonight Lisa, Peter, Graeme and many more and I should be happy because they are very good friends and it is just fantastic to see them here but I do not have any more energy than the one I have been given during the show.

It is something amazing, I am sure that there are actors that live and play for the moment after the show, when they can go out and see the people and learn their praises and their love.

In my case I like that too but I prefer what happens on the stage and when it is on the stage.

Petra is more of the first case people. Her and Toby are having a really good blast time in Brighton. For them it really is a home town and the festival, in my opinion is making a big mistake not using Spymonkey more. We travel a lot and we work in many places around the world so it would be very beneficial and good for them to use us. May be next time or may be next year or in the future… Who know when we we will do “interesting” work.

This old theatre is really great. Someone told me this morning that I have to see the theatre for a little while before I go into see a play because if not I find myself looking at the theatre and forgetting about the play.

We do not want this to be happening because the play is a little bit fragile and we want the audience to be dead certain with the show they are watching and not think for one second about the Theatre they are in.

It is also very good for our show it gives the show the grandiosity that the show needs. We do silly shows so it is better if they are play in very nice and big theaters.

The theatre has a big entrance in front of park. The shows that are happening at the time of the show are framed by the door. It does not happen the same thing with us because we are part of the Festival Program so for them it not matter if we do well or not, they will not get more money.

But the Festival is the sam. It feels a little bit as if they are shame of us, being a Brighton company and all of that. The problem in my opinion is that they do not think of us as someone that they can take around the world as a highbrow company who can represent the spirit of Brighton. It is much better to pick someone that is more serious and that believe in things more obscure. They like art. In a way I wander what is art? And is it art what we do?

I do have an answer about that but I would like you all to think about it.

Terrible felling thinking that I have to be back in the cold and grey England but in fact it is as cold and grey as it is this place I am about to leave. Romo is not brighter thou it is warmer. There is not doubt about that. I want to be here for a little bit longer but at the same time I would not mind to go back and have lots of exciting work.

I have enjoyed Miren very much thou she is nervous and a little bit upset with the world.
I took her to the demonstration yesterday and it was fun to be there and protested against all those corrupted people in the world. These days the world is full of theaves with a white globe or with white collar. Normally they are dressed as politicians who have been elected by honorable people and they can not wait to hold the power and make the most amount of money with it.

The demonstration was a nice and in a festive way we stroll around the main road of Bilbao all the way to the front of theatre Arriaga and then there they red some speeches but by then Miren and me had decided to go shopping.

We are suffering a little bit the fact that we do not have much privacy. Miren’s mum is staying with us so we do not have many moments where we can be by ourselves. Perhaps the only thing we wanted to do is just stay alone in the house watching TV and talking about things from time to time but we had been force to go out to the streets the entire weekend as if when we were living with our parents.

I have ordered a new board. This time is going to be red.It is going to be retro fish and I wish it would give me the push I need to go and surf a lot this coming summer.
I was not very sure as I was ordering but sometimes you just have to do what you want to do whithout thinking of what you will get from it.

I am now in London in the house of my friends Christopher and Julia. Rebeca, Chris and Nic’s sister would come later. We had had dinner together and I have finally met their daughters. They are great people with who I had a great relationship something like 13 years ago and we had not see each others ever since but now talking to them is as if time has not passed.

This is it. This is the day. A year ago in the main square of Madrid a group of idealist say no more to the way our governments and the people who are in them that IT WAS ENOUGH.
They occupied the square and for several months against all odds stay there protesting in a very civic manner and in my opinion gave an example in how to behave in a civilize way while all the rich countries of the world search within their law a way to destroyed them. I felt envy for their courage. I felt I could trust in people to take care of me because I could see a clear commitment in taking care of the interest of the majority of the people and not just on the interest of the finance giants of the world as all the politicians of our time are doing.

They went to the square an in a new way and honest way say ENOUGH is ENOUGH. This democracy is corrupted and it has to stop. This world is own by few people and this world belong to everybody so give it back to us.

I did not participated in the movement. I was not in Spain but the movement spread all over the world to many different countries and the one I was I did not participated either. I fell ashamed of myself so I hope I will change this time and I will go to the demonstration today at 18:00 in Bilbao. I invite all of you to look for the demonstration in your town or city or country and go and demonstrate and say NO to the way the politicians that we have elected are running our countries and our lives.

We do not like it the way you are doing it so either you change or you leave and if you do not leave then we will fight until you leave. Because the future looks really bleak and it should not look like that. We do not deserve that future.

So go out and occupy your square and show them that you still have a voice or better that we still have a voice.

It is really easy when you arrive to your house and it is 36 degrees and everyone is outside on the streets drinking beer and enjoying the nice weather.

As if there is nothing to be happy with the status quo everyone complains because it is too hot. I say I have been in a place raining for a entire week and now you complain about this hot weather… Not everybody is happy at the same time.
I was happy thou staying in a t shirt outside and drinking one beer with my girl and having a nice time off. It is not the same today because the clouds are lazy and they are really low so we can not really see the sun. The clouds are in the ground and it is as if walking in the sky but with a little bit of very fine water.

That has not prevented me for going to the beach to see the beautiful sea and staying there watching at the sea and reading my paper. There are very little things better than that.

I met with Gerry. I was tired and I slept until possible. I was really tired and I was trying to rest for as long as possible so I could be full of energy for our Brighton week.

I am going to stay with Graeme and that is going to be nice because I have not seen him for a very long time. Flo is gone and they were an item and I love her so much. I love Graeme too and I hope that he is happy.

I am a little bit tired but I am sure I am going to have enough time to rest. I am thinking of having a little bit a siesta today and all the days that I am going to be here in my town.

There is nothing nice about my town apart from the sea and my lovely girl. When I arrived yesterday the entire city and my way from the airport to my house was full of red and white flags celebrating or honoring the Athletic de Bilbao and his lost of the European ligue. I hate football. I hate the way people follow football is really sad. It is followed in a fundamentalistic way that lacks in sense of humor. So I am bored with it and as with any fundamentalism I just do not have any time for it and it is really boring.

It does not get easy. This airport has change so much since the first time I came here. When I arrived I did not know one word of english, well, that would be lying because I new how to say Hello and How are you? But I could not identified if someone would say the same words back to me.

It is difficult to be a foreigner but that would be the subject for another of these pieces.

Now I am sitting in a fancy restaurant where I had lunch some years ago. The first time I had lunch here I think I had the most expensive bottle of beer of my life until then. Now I think beers have become really posh so they are expensive and now we get paid so we can buy beers.

I arrived from Cornwall in the car with Petra and Stephan. We share the drive between Stephan and me and we dropped Lyndsei in Exeter Airport. She is great. Her Dona and her and Roger have been and are an amazing team. I wish we will have enough work for them to be working for us the whole time.

Anyway, the road was long and now I am in Heathrow probably the place I have visited the most in all these years living and working in this country.
There are so many anecdotes and stories that I have lived here or around this place.

It is really sad to say that I fell quite comfortable staying here, in this soulless place where lots of people pass through and many work and come here everyday. I am happy here. I would like to use the VIP lounge but that is my goal in this life to have the VIP card of Heathrow airport.

Now we did have a very good show last night in Truro. We almost got an Standing ovulation and the audience loved the show. I agree with the audience because it was a very nice show. It was full of fun and finesse and the audience really apreciated.

It was really the time to stay because I am sure the word of mouth would have started to work from now on very well.

But now the tour is about to finish and we are ready to do the Brighton Festival and then stop working in the show for a while and use our time to do other things.

So many things, this never seems to end, lets call it from now on “the endless tour”.

“The Endless tour” is about to finish, we have done the fifth show before the end last night. It was a good show. Actually I would say it is a very good show because it was fresh and it was well played as play with panache and fun and it was fast and quite tight taking in consideration that we were really tired.

Some friends came to see the show last night, Tanya, friends of Petra that we met long time ago and that I did not remember, “La Nave Bette” were also in the audience. We know they were there because they tweeted not because we meet them afterwards. It is difficult to know if they like the show because we did not see them afterwards.

Also Rock theatre that we met in Blackpool with Professor Vanessa, they were beautiful girls with a nice man. We of course enjoyed the beautiful girls over all.

In any case there were more friends Joan, Poppy and Nath came because I had invited them. They were not my friends there but they were friends with Pedro and Susana. They were really nice. They came with us to the pub and it was really nice to meet them, really nice people.

The show is a little bit tired for my taste but also because we are tired but I am sure that as soon as we are in Brighton after four days off everything is going to be fine.

I bought a very funny pair of sunglasses, they were really cheap at my favorite shop at the moment. I do not think I am ever going to wear them but at least I have them if I want to wear them.

Toby and Roger and Petra had lunch in a place that looked really good, the burgers they ate looked really good so I am planning today to go and eat there.

Cornwall is really nice but we are not enjoying the place as much as we should because we are tired and in a hard core tour.

Also, as the minutes in the tour progress and slowly we go from one hour to the next the level of autistic increases in all of us. It is incredible how do we isolated because it is tired and painful to use energy to talk or to socialize if it is not helped by our dear friend Mr Alcohol. Let this tour finish. We have a show tonight and I think is going to be great.

It is a difficult place for us. You would not have think so but it is probably more that it is the way it fells.

We did the first gig here yesterday and it got a good response but at the same time it was not the one we wanted or the one we expected.

So after finishing the show Petra and me we were talking and she was saying something to me and I could not control my emotions and I had a little go at her so she got upset and then we talk and I say sorry to her…but I did not feel I have been bad with her or that was my impression and the most important thing is not my impression but the way she felt.

We are tired. We are starting to be grumpy and short temper with each others. It is not major at the moment but it could get worst. Nothing that later on we will regret but it is difficult and we have been touring for a very long time together and we would like to have a proper break to appreciate what we have.

Carl came all the way from London. He is so nice and a very talented person. I definitely would like to work with him in the near future.

Julian is also great. I wish he would be closer to us and that he could lead is in the right direction because he knows a lot of a part of our world that we do not know enough.

Petra went to read children stories to a bunch of five years old children and then Toby and me will do a Q&A with upcoming companies from Cornwall.

My body is asking me for a little rest and I am not giving it to him. I am tired but most important I am tired in my head and in my soul. It is a pity that this place has caught us at the end of the tour because It would have been lovely to be full of energy while we were here.

I would not like you to read that things are not good because it is not true. Things are really good and we are a happy bunch but we have worked hard and now is time to have a break.